There is nothing exceptionally hard about having two +1 hard lineups.... I mean, nearly every single playbook has the ability to start with +1 hard. +1 is an alright stat, not a strong stat, and it certainly isn't making a HARD statement. That said, Quarantine has moves that revolve around combat, and since all combat in AW is hard, it would be rather backwards to the class to have no skill in the systems basic fighting moves.
Well, yeah, my point wasn't that they were a lot harder than most playbooks, just that they weren't exactly below average either. Meaning the Quarantine is as hard as (or even harder than, in a few cases) most other PC types in Apocalypse World.
And that any PC with a +1 Hard is basically an action-movie hero compared to NPCs. Because that's important to note, too. Because even at Hard +0 (never mind +1) any PC is a believable combat veteran and will usually take most NPCs in a fight. So a Quarantine doesn't need to be especially dangerous in a fight
by PC standards to be a believable soldier.
In sum: Only classes that start with +2 hard are HARD classes.
Yep, that's pretty much where I was going with that.
As a counter point, yes, everyone is harder after the apoc. Because life is harder. The Quarantines' life is also hard, its not like they're set up with all the shit of the golden age, or even some of it. Plus there is the weird, and the fact that nothing is civil. Much like my walking dead example, you get hard quick, or you die. (barring the very few exceptions)
Harder in some senses, sure. But not necessarily or universally in a way that's actually useful. After all, Brainers and Battlebabes can both have -2 Hard and be notably worse than any Quarantine in the sort of confrontations the Hard stat is used for...and from playbook descriptions, it's rather unlikely that this is due to them leading especially sheltered lives by Apocalypse World standards.
In short, there's certainly some overlap between being ruthless and dangerous and having a high Hard stat, but the two aren't the same thing. Nor is having lead a difficult life the same as being good in a conventional fight. Exactly what high and low Hard ratings mean narratively varies pretty widely and thus this isn't necessarily the case. It certainly could be in a particular game of a particular Quarantine, but in another game something else entirely might be going on.
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